FlashReport Weblog on California Politics

[Publisher's Note: As part of an
ongoing effort to bring original, thoughtful commentary to you here
at the FlashReport, we are pleased to present this column from Asm.
Shannon Grove.]

If you are new to the FlashReport,
please check out the main site and the acclaimed FlashReport Weblog on California
politics.

Pundits and politicians talk a lot about the importance of
modernizing state government and making it more open and
accountable to the people it serves. Republicans in the State
Assembly agree and recently took several concrete steps to do
so.

We recently introduced a package of bills that would modernize
the legislative calendar, bring stability to the state budgeting
process and increase transparency. These measures would make
government more responsive and help restore the public’s trust in
its government. We urge the stodgy Democrat majority to seriously
consider these reforms – and the public to text and tweet their
legislators in support.

Gov. Jerry Brown has declared that opposition to efforts to
reduce carbon emissions “borders on the immoral.” Hesitate though
we might to debate Brown, a former Jesuit seminarian, on the nature
of divine law, we have to question the “morality” of forcing
working California motorists to bear the brunt of the cost of
regulations required by Brown’s convictions.

In light of both economic concerns and a more rational
understanding of climate change science, other nations and states
are rethinking their aggressive policies. But here in California,
the reigning political leadership is forcing the middle class and
working poor to shoulder almost the entire burden of mankind’s
response to climate change.

When it comes to the topic of climate change, there is really
only one thing we know for certain. Climate change is a global
concern that needs a global response. There are nearly 200 nations
on earth. To ask the working families and small businesses of one
state in one nation to suffer almost the entirety of economic harm
is both unfair and foolish.

If it wasn’t official before that Randy Voepel is seeking the
71st AD seat currently held by Brian Jones…

From the Voepel Campaign

While it has been the pleasure
of my lifetime to serve as Mayor of Santee, I’ve determined it’s
time for a new opportunity to serve. That’s why I’ve decided to run
for the 71st Assembly District.

As Mayor of Santee since 2000,
I’ve worked hard to build a strong record. Specifically, my tenure
as Mayor has been a demonstration of how conservative policies can
work at a local level.

As Mayor, I’ve been proud to
accomplish the following:

Built one of the largest
per-capita reserves out of any other city in the
region.Contracted out recreation
programs to the YMCA and Boys and Girls Club to improve service
levels while cutting pension obligations.Dedicated the highest
proportion of our budget to public
… Read More

Jon Coupal, President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers
Association, has accepted appointment to National Taxpayers Union
Board of Directors. NTU is an organization that is continually
championing taxpayer issues both here in California and nationally.
This will allow HJTA members to benefit from the national exposure
NTU offers and make both organizations stronger.

Coupal is (and will remain) President of the Howard Jarvis
Taxpayers Association (HJTA), and Chairman of the Howard Jarvis
Taxpayer Foundation; both organizations were founded by the leader
of the California Tax Revolt that passed the landmark Proposition
13 in 1978. Coupal brings over three decades of experience working
on tax issues and fighting for taxpayers to NTU’s board.

“I look forward to working with NTU members and its outstanding
leadership team,” said Coupal. “The battles ahead over taxes and
spending may well determine if our Country prospers or if we are to
continue down the road to mediocrity or worse.”

HJTA and NTU have a history of working successfully together to
take on taxpayer issues including defeating increased parcel
property taxes (Proposition 88, 2006) and the… Read More

The city of Eureka on the far north coast of our state is part
of a fabled land, far removed from the rest of drought stricken
California. The winds that the ridiculously resilient ridge of high
pressure push north find welcoming mountains and canyons in and
around Eureka, drenching them with rain, nourishing endless
grovesof thetallest trees on earth, the magnificent
coast redwoods. Gushing rivers run through thick green forests
scented with maritime air. Downtown, the mansions of the 19th
century lumber barons defy time, marvelous, intricate, stunning.
And on postcard perfect shorelines, the rugged Pacific surf surges
against the rocks. It’s hard to imagine a more beautiful place.

But when it comes to government unions making sure their
compensation crowds out any hope of fiscal sanity, Eureka is as
ordinary, and as challenged, as every other city in California.

Today during the 2015 Cal Tax Annual Members meeting, I called
for a meaningful public discourse on tax reform ideas that make
life easier for taxpayers. Specifically, I suggested replacing
California’s income tax with a sales tax on services.

As you may know,
Senate Bill 8 (Hertzberg) seeks to extend California’s sales
tax to services. As currently written, the bill amounts to nothing
more than a massive tax increase that would just make California
less competitive while adding thousands of state auditors and tax
collectors to state payrolls.

Reform, by its definition, should not include growing government
or making taxes more complicated.

Any shift to a broader reliance on sales tax must be combined
with real tax reform that removes barriers to doing business in our
state. That’s why I proposed eliminating California’s personal and
corporate income tax and the Franchise Tax Board. One less tax
agency would make California a far more attractive place for jobs,
retirees, and investment.

Editor’s Note: Tim Clark was
the general consultant for John Moorlach’s State Senate
campaign.

Combat experts teach that when
facing an opponent four times your size, you must use his size and
strength against him.

In a race that saw a 4 to 1 spending advantage in favor of our
opponent, and a combined $750,000 attack campaign against John
Moorlach, it was Moorlach’s opponent who finished the race with
high negatives, low credibility, and a devastating loss.

I read with some amusement the
recent post on Flash Report by members of the team that handled
our opponent’s campaign. I can understand their need to spin the
outcome. After all, combined spending on our opponent’s behalf
equaled $23 per vote. Moorlach… Read More

The California Democratic Party claims to be for the poor and
middle class, but killed a bill Monday which would have cut
California’s highest-in-the-nation gas tax.Californians pay
68 cents tax on every gallon of gasoline – the highest gas tax in
the nation.

Not content to be the first state in the country to tax the air
we breathe, California is the first in the nation to impose a cap
and trade tax on transportation fuels.

In response, Assemblyman Jim Patterson, R-Fresno, and more than
20 other Republican lawmakers, introduced AB 23,
theAffordable Gas for California Families
Act,legislation to exempt transportation fuels and natural
gas from the California Air Resource Board’scap-and-trade
program.